The PAT-2: NU is a standardized assessment of phonological awareness, phoneme-grapheme correspondence, and phonemic decoding skills. Test results help educators focus on aspects of oral language not systematically targeted in classroom reading instruction.

Six core subtests (Rhyming, Segmentation, Isolation, Deletion, Substitution, and Blending) measure students’ awareness of spoken syllables and phonemes in students ages 5 through 9 years of age. The test also has two supplemental subtests (Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence and Phonemic Decoding) that measure students’ knowledge of sound/symbol correspondence in isolation and in practice in students ages six through nine years. The test is comprehensive and includes a wide variety of tasks; performance on each of these tasks correlates with success in early reading and spelling. The straightforward, developmental format lets you filter through specific skills and plan effective interventions.

Characteristics of the normative sample (stratified by age relative to region, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors, and other critical variables) are the same as those reported for the school-age population reported the Statistical Abstract of the United States 2016 (ProQuest, LLC, 2016).

For every test item, authors used both conventional and differential analysis in order to find and eliminate potentially biased items.

New normative scores calculated for the subtests (in terms of scaled scores) have a mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 3.

The Phonological Awareness Index and the Phoneme-Grapheme Index create the Total Score. These scores, calculated as composite scores (another type of standard score) with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, reflect direct linear transformations of the sums of scaled scores and give equal weight to each of the subtests that comprise the Phonological Awareness Index and Phoneme-Grapheme Index.

The reorganized and rewritten Examiner’s Manual provides very detailed information on the administration, interpretation, and statistical characteristics of the test.

Description of the Test

The PAT-2: NU consists of five components: an Examiner’s Manual, Examiner Record Booklets, Manipulative Blocks, a Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence Stimuli Booklet, and a Phonemic Decoding Stimuli Booklet. The Examiner’s Manual includes a comprehensive discussion of the test’s theoretical and research-based foundation, item development, standardization, administration and scoring procedures, norm tables, and guidelines for using and interpreting the test’s results. The Examiner Record Booklet provides space to record responses; transform raw scores to age equivalents, percentile ranks, and scaled scores; and calculate the Phonological Awareness Index and the Phoneme-Grapheme Index. The test kit also includes Manipulative Blocks for the Substitution subtest, a stimuli book that includes the items for the Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence subtest, and a stimuli book that includes the items for the Phonemic Decoding subtest.

Reliability and validity studies include individuals with typical language ability and individuals previously diagnosed with a language impairment or who received other special education services. The average coefficient alpha ranges between .83 and .92 for the subtests and is .96 for the Phonological Awareness Index and .97 for the Phoneme-Grapheme Index. Validity of the test composites demonstrates correlations to the CTOPP-2 Phonological Awareness Composite. The coefficient for the Phonological Awareness Index was .92, and the coefficient for the Phoneme-Grapheme Index was .94, both nearly perfect.